Online Drudge reports nearly toppled Clinton

The Drudge Report website almost brought down the Clinton presidency.

It first aired the claims Bill Clinton had an affair with his intern, Monica Lewinsky. The rumours dogged the president until he was forced to admit he did have sexual relations "with that woman".

Matt Drudge launched his website as a vehicle for showbusiness gossip but soon built a reputation that attracted leaks from highlyplaced politicians and lobbyists.

Right-wing Republicans were thought to pass him claims they could not air in the mainstream media, which in turn would pick them up and run them.

Drudge also broke the news that Jerry Seinfeld would ask for $1 million a week when a source from the comedy series showed him a tape of the actor ranting in an office, and that Mr Clinton was taking the Paula Jones fight to the supreme court.

Drudge's fascination with news dates back to his childhood days delivering the Washington Star in Maryland. He moved to Hollywood and got a job at the CBS studios' gift shop. By sifting through the wastepaper baskets, eavesdropping and intercepting memos, Drudge tapped into raw gossip which he then put on line.

Nowadays he attracts about 3.2 million page views a day.